


More Than a Hunch

by stars_inthe_sky



Category: Life with Derek
Genre: 5 Things, 5 Times, F/M, Family, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Secret Relationship, Step-siblings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-30
Updated: 2018-10-30
Packaged: 2019-08-09 21:09:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,363
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16457264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stars_inthe_sky/pseuds/stars_inthe_sky
Summary: “Carol Brady never had to put up with this.”Four times all those blended-family parenting books were no use, and one time it didn’t matter.





	More Than a Hunch

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from the [_Brady Bunch_ theme song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2JooUMsDdA), of course.

“Honey,” George calls from the kitchen. “Are we good parents?”

Nora finishes closing the front door against the summer heat and wanders to the back of the house. “Well, we’re definitely parents.” She joins him at the kitchen island, where he’s standing frozen, with a white-knuckled grip around his travel mug in midair. “Why?”

He nods stiffly at the window, and she follows his gaze through the glass to where the hammock is rocking gently over a struggling patch of grass. Stepping toward the window for a better look, she realizes there are two people in the hammock, curled up against each other and laughing. Every muscle in Nora’s face goes slack.

Casey and Derek are _cuddling_. And, possibly more surprising, they both look happy about it.

“Oh nooooo,” she groans, and then recovers, or attempts to—mostly for George’s sake, since he hasn’t moved. “Maybe they’re just…maybe after some separation at university, they’re finally getting along? Or, I don’t know, they both wanted to, um, share…”

But Nora can’t even make the suggestion sound convincing. There’s an easy intimacy to the way the two nineteen-year-olds are lying together—fully clothed, thankfully, but Casey’s head is resting against Derek’s outstretched arm, and she fidgets with the hem of his shirt as he points at something above them, making her giggle and bury her face in his shoulder.

George shakes his head very slowly, like the scene before them has stilled time to a near-halt while he processes. He still hasn’t lowered his hand, coffee and all. “What…when…do you think they…?”

“Help me out here, George,” Nora says. “Because I don’t think I can deal with _that_ —” she jerks a thumb at the window—“and you having a mental breakdown at the same time.”

That seems to snap him out of it. A little. “How are you _not_ freaking out, Nora? Our kids look like they are—”

She winces. “Don’t say it. Not out loud.”

“Okay, fine, but they’re—and we—we weren’t supposed to be home for another _hour_ after dropping Simon off. This isn’t for show, or, or a—a prank, or…whatever. It’s—and they—”

“Yeah.” Nora carefully pries the mug out of his hand before he forgets he’s holding it and disaster ensues. “I’m not _not_ freaking out, I just—they can’t know we know, right?”

“They can’t?” The high pitch of his voice would be cute, if the subject at hand weren’t their university-age children _spooning_. Together. “But why…if—”

She glances back out the window, where—yep, unmistakable necking is now happening. Nora rushes over and pulls the blind down. “Yeah, no, I don’t think we can say anything.”

“But they’re—”

Nora ticks reasons off on her fingers. “Not actually related, deeply stubborn, extremely hormonal, and obviously succeeding at keeping this, uh, secret for awhile already?”

George’s face twitches as he thinks. “I guess. They _are_ both adults…technically…and it’s not like we can control what they’re doing when they’re at Queen's…especially Derek…”

“Also,” Nora continues, sipping the coffee he’s obviously not going to finish. “What would we be trying to say, exactly? Are we really _anti_ this, or just kind of wigged out because it’s, you know…those two, together?”

“Okay, fair,” George admits, finally unfreezing enough to settle onto a barstool. “I guess I don’t even know _what_ we’d say that would sound mature and thoughtful and parental.”

“And that wouldn’t send _both_ of them freaking out in opposite directions?”

“Right.” He leans over the counter to grab his mug back. “And if they are…uh, in the hammock…Casey’s at least probably thought it through, right?”

“More likely overthought it.” Nora puts up a nominal defense before letting him reclaim the remaining coffee. “And, hey, at least they’re getting along!”

George nods, decisively, then stands up and reopens the window shade, resolutely not looking outside. Instead, he backs up a few meters into the doorframe to the dining room, and bellows, “Anybody up yet? We come bearing Smelly Nelly’s finest!”

Nora will probably never find out how the pair gets around—or _up_ —the outside of the house so quickly, but within two minutes a very disheveled Derek thumps down the stairs, squinting and grunting something that sounds vaguely like “coffee.”

Above them, the shower turns on and Casey calls, “Be down in a few minutes!” with a little too much perkiness.

Mug in hand, Derek shuffles into the living room and collapses into his recliner without another word.

George raises his eyebrows at Nora and goes back to sitting at the island and sipping his coffee. Joining him, she chuckles helplessly and jostles him with her shoulder. “You know, Carol Brady never had to put up with this.”

***

Having decided to approach her sister’s third wedding with nothing but relief to not be hosting it, Nora manages to enjoy herself. Fiona had even seated the entire McDonald–Venturi clan together, which lets Nora and George hand off Simon to his siblings and actually dance for a couple of songs.

They collapse back at the table when George spots waiters dropping off entrees; Marti passes her two-year-old brother back before Nora can even scoot her chair forward. The rest of the kids are already eating with gusto.

Vicky—whose sour expression had only deepened upon being made to dance repeatedly with her own new stepsiblings, ages six and eight—escapes from the crowd and comes up to stand behind Casey’s chair. “Hi, Aunt Nora. Lizzie. Hey, Derek.”

Casey rolls her eyes and snorts derisively into her risotto.

“Oh, hello, ‘ _cuz_ ,” Vicky says, glancing down as Casey grimaces. “Didn’t even see you there.”

“Yeah, whatever, _Victoria_ ,” Casey snaps.

Ignoring her, Vicky turns to Derek. “So, let’s dance.”

“Can’t,” he retorts around a mouthful of dinner roll. “Or won’t? Both.” Vicky makes an indignant noise of protest, and he adds, “Anyway, I have a girlfriend.”

“You _do_?” Edwin yelps. Derek glares at him; Casey intently stabs at a carrot, her expression aggressively neutral. “I mean, you do! Duh! Can’t just go off dancing with every beautiful girl who…”

Vicky groans and yanks Edwin up by the sleeve of his coat. “Come on.” Edwin looks equal parts terrified and thrilled as she drags him away.

About a minute and a half into the next song, Marti grabs Simon off George’s lap without warning and heads to the dance floor, which lets George begin to eat some of his dinner at last. Derek chugs all of what Nora is fairly sure had been Edwin’s glass of water, and then stands up, tapping Casey on the shoulder. “Come on, let’s dance.”

“Yeah, right, Crazy Legs!” she chirps, failing to hide her obvious delight as Derek tugs her toward to the bandstand.

Vicky, leading Edwin in some sort of painful-looking foxtrot, swoops by just then. “I thought you said you had a girlfriend!”

“It’s _Casey_ ,” Derek says in a tone meant to imply _It’s Casey so she doesn’t count_ , even if Nora is pretty sure he means, _It’s Casey I’m dating._ It’s not clear if Casey herself is happier to have a dance partner or just to have pissed off her cousin. Either way, she lets Derek pull her into an off-tempo whirl, and it’s pretty sweet.

Nora chuckles and digs into her salad, only to be interrupted by Lizzie’s demanding, “Did you guys see that?”

“Hm, see what?” George asks, too innocently. Nora almost chokes on her fork.

Lizzie gasps. “You _did_! And you _knew_?”

Around a mouthful of lettuce, Nora starts to deny it but gives up. Several meters away, Casey is attempting to get Derek to dip her, with mixed success. They’re both grinning, though, with a giddiness Nora remembers from her own (second) wedding. “We have an educated guess, Lizard, but we are _not_ saying anything until they want to talk about…stuff. Okay?”

“Fine,” Lizzie concedes, polishing off the contents of Casey’s wineglass. Nora doesn’t have the energy to call her on it. “I don’t even know what I _would_ say, anyway.”

“Join the club,” George says.

***

It’s probably some sort of divine punishment for leaving the house empty save for two nominal adults whom she _knows_ to be secretly dating, but Nora is still shocked to return home to the unwelcome knowledge that, yes, Casey is a screamer.

Nora stands stock-still in the doorway, trying to tune out the noises above with a half-conscious Simon balanced on her hip. After more than a year of admittedly impressive subterfuge, she’d have settled for an honest conversation with her kid, but the only communication seems to be coming by way of a bed frame rocking upstairs.

Marti clomps up the porch stairs. “What’s that…thumping?”

“Uh,” Nora says, shifting Simon around to her other side to stall for time. “I think there may be some animals on the roof?”

“Like bobcats?”

“Maybe? But we shouldn’t, um, disturb them. Could be dangerous.” Marti nods solemnly, and Nora has a stroke of inspiration. “You know what, sweetie, could you go grab Simon’s car seat for me?”

Marti glares with an intensity that rivals only her brother—the one Nora would rather not be reminded of at the moment.

“Please? You know there’s all that food smashed into the sides, which I should _really_ clean out, and I don’t want to wake him…”

“Fine, but only if I get to go see if there are lynxes on the roof after! Promise?” Without waiting for an answer, she takes the steps two at time and rounds into the driveway.

Nora allows herself half a second of relief before there is a low and unmistakably male groan from the second floor that sounds something like her daughter’s name. Resisting the urge to storm upstairs and put an end to the whole charade—because there is at least one way this could get _more_ uncomfortable—she fiddles with the door, making the hinges creak, then stomps over the threshold loud enough to make Simon start to fuss.

“Anybody awake here yet, or is everyone sleeping their break away again?” Nora calls, as brightly as she can manage.

The thumping stops abruptly, and, a long moment later, Derek calls down, “I’m only awake if there’s bacon.”

“There’s bacon!” she yells back, setting Simon down on the recliner to nod off again. Let’s see his big brother try to contest that territory today. “Is Casey up?”

“Haven’t seen her. Probably still in bed, the lazy—” he begins, only to have Casey cut him off with, “Oh my God, Derek, I’m _up_! Don’t let him eat _everything_!”

Marti appears in the doorway, half-hidden behind the car seat in her arms, just as the two older kids attempt to shove each other aside on their way down the stairs. Derek’s hair looks wilder than usual, whereas Casey’s is in a bun so severe it looks painful.

They’re _good_ , Nora decides, but not as good as they think.

“’Sup, Smarti?” Derek asks, relieving her of the car seat—which he promptly drops in the middle of the foyer, instead of a couple feet over next to the wall. He casts a despairing glance at Simon but stays silent.

“There are _cougars_ on the roof! Maybe!” Marti yelps. “Wanna come see?”

She yanks Derek through the living room and toward the back door. Casey digs the carton of bacon out of the bag of takeout and smirks at Derek. “All mine.”

Nora is nominally unloading the rest of their lunch, but that doesn’t keep her from catching the lingering glance Casey and Derek exchange before Marti pulls him out of sight.

***

“So, I finally get a hold of my big bro on the actual telephone,” Edwin says over dinner. “And all he can do is brag about how great the birthday present he got for his girlfriend was. As if I wasn’t going to immediately compare notes with Lizzie—”

“—who had just gotten off the phone with her big sis,” Lizzie cuts in. “Guess ‘Darren’ really came through on this one. Something about ice skating? I don’t know; it went on for a while.”

George snorts into his pasta. “Darren? I thought it was Erik-with-a-K.”

“That was _so_ last year, Dad,” Marti huffs. “And Derek’s dating _Daisy_ now.”

Edwin shakes his head and reaches in front of her for the marinara. “No, no, it’s Carrie. Cammie?”

“I think it’s Cassie,” Nora says. “How do they think they’re fooling anyone at this point?”

Marti twirls an improbable amount of spaghetti around her fork. “Why aren’t we allowed to tell them we know, again?”

“Because they’ll tell us when they’re ready.” George has repeated this mantra enough times over the past two and a half years to say it with relative confidence, although they’re all starting to doubt it. “And we want to respect and support their decision.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Edwin mutters. “It’s been so long it doesn’t even seem weird anymore.” Lizzie nods in emphatic agreement.

George raises an eyebrow. “Hey now, we don’t have to worry about you two, do we?”

“Ew!” they yelp at the same time. Nora and Marti both burst out laughing at that, hard enough that Simon babbles merrily too, waving his arms from his high chair. George chuckles.

“I mean, no offense,” Edwin adds.

Lizzie shrugs. “None taken. It’s not like I even like boys anyway.”

The table falls silent. “Um, something you want to share with us, Liz?” Nora asks. “You know we love and support you, and—”

“Oh, yeah.” Lizzie shrugs again, but there’s a small smile budding on her face. “I figured it out a while ago. Only took, like, all of middle school. I just…you know, hadn’t gotten around to telling you guys yet. Is that okay?”

She looks more relieved than nervous as Nora gives her a big hug. “Of course, honey. I’m really proud of you.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Lizzie says into Nora’s shoulder. “I mean, it’s not like I’ve been telling anyone else, either—”

“Except me!” Edwin volunteers.

“That doesn’t count,” she says, turning to elbow Edwin. “You only found out ‘cause you saw me and Molly kissing under the bleachers after school when you were _supposed_ to be practicing your mascot routine.”

“Kissing?” Nora says.

“Bleachers?” Marti says.

“Molly?” George says. “As in, Edwin’s first girlfriend Molly?”

“Yup,” Lizzie smirks. “At least he knows why she dumped him now.”

Edwin leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest in a very Derek-like pose. “Eh, it just proves she has good taste.”

“Hon, are you gonna tell Casey?” Nora asks. “It’s your news to share, and if you don’t want us to say anything—”

“Yeah, obviously. As long as she stops talking about Darius or Merrick or whoever for long enough for me to get a word in. Not telling her would be like…” Lizzie trails off, wrinkling her nose.

“Ooh, like dating your stepbrother for, like, _three years_ and not telling _anyone_?” Edwin offers.

Nora groans and buries her face in her hands while everyone else laughs again. Marti stands up and walks around to Nora to pat her arm. “Don’t feel bad, Nora. You did your best.”

***

“Okay, everybody, _we_ have an announcement,” Casey declares as soon as everyone finishes ordering brunch.

That much had been obvious; she had gone into planning overdrive for the meal as soon as someone had suggested a family visit to Toronto to see her and Derek, who had conveniently found a job doing social media for the Maple Leafs right before Casey started law school at U of T.

“Wait, hang on, I almost have the joke here—”

“Shut it, Ed,” Derek interrupts, elbowing his brother without taking his eyes off Casey, who’s seated on his other side.

“What’s up, Casey?” Nora says, in the most innocent voice she can manage. “And are we talking about a royal ‘we’ here, or…”

“Well, no,” Casey says primly, resting her fingers on the edge of the table. “Derek and I are…together. And moving in together! On purpose! Isn’t that great?”

She nudges Derek, who nods while pointedly avoiding eye contact with Nora. “What Casey’s trying to say is that we’ve been dating for a while and she— _we_ figured it was time to come clean.”

Everyone at the table goes quiet and stares, except for Simon, who is more interested in coloring the paper tablecloth.

“How—how long has this been going on?” George finally manages to ask.

They glance at each other. “Four years?” Derek volunteers. “Since the middle of our second semester at Queen's. Unless you count…”

“ _Nope_ ,” Casey says in a tone so final that Nora resolves to never ask. Brightening, she adds, “We wanted to tell you guys, really, but we thought we should wait until…you know, we _knew_. And now we do! And we found a really cute little place in Greektown, so we’re moving in together, and, um…okay, somebody say something?”

Lizzie breaks first, snorting into her straw and causing her iced tea to bubble up. Marti begins giggling hysterically, and the rest of them quickly lose it.

“What—this isn’t a prank!” Derek says indignantly while Casey’s jaw drops. “She’s serious! We— _we’re_ serious. Come on!”

“Sorry, sorry,” George manages to say amid guffaws. “It’s just…finally!” The other girls nod vigorously; Edwin has fully collapsed on the table and is shaking with laughter.

“Wait,” Casey snaps. “You _knew_? _All_ of you?”

“ _How_ ,” Derek demands. “And _when_?”

“We…caught you guys necking in the hammock, what, that first summer?” Nora admits, unable to hide her grin.

“Dancing at Aunt Fiona’s wedding. Dead giveaway,” Lizzie says.

“Noises,” Edwin says, shuddering. “Terrible, middle-of-the-night… _noises_.”

“It was _so_ obvious,” Marti sighs airily, without further explanation.

Derek raises an eyebrow. “Ed, if there aren’t noises, you’re not doing it right.”

“Nope, never listening to you about girls again.” Edwin grins, shaking his head, although Lizzie looks like she might be considering Derek’s point.

“Hey,” Derek replies. “I’ve had a girlfriend for, like, _years_ now. A hot one!”

“Yeah, but it’s _Casey_.”

“Hey!” Derek protests, reaching to put Edwin in a headlock.

Casey rolls her eyes and shakes her head fondly. Turning to Nora and George, she asks, “You guys really aren’t mad?”

“Oh, honey, no.” Nora smiles, reaching across the table to cup her daughter’s cheek. “We might have been…surprised…initially, and we’re maybe a little sad to have missed so much of something important to you guys. But we’re kind of over it at this point.”

“Four years!” George shakes his head.

Nora adds, “And everyone’s happy that you guys are happy, _and_ that George and I get to put off any awkward meet-the-parents scenarios for a while longer.”

“And that you told us before you went and secretly eloped or something,” George adds.

“Well, _actually_ …” Derek says, letting go of Edwin, and the entire table falls dead silent again.

That’s when Casey slaps him on the arm. “Der- _ek_!”

“Kidding!” he chuckles, raising both hands in apparent surrender. Five people let out heavy sighs of relief; Simon breaks a crayon in half and continues coloring with both halves, one in each hand. “Like this one would ever miss the chance to dress fancy.”

“Like _you_ would ever miss the chance to be the center of attention at a party?” she retorts.

“Oh, man, you guys would have the _best_ wedding,” Edwin exclaims.

“No, no, I’m not ready for that,” Lizzie says, mostly to herself. “Not Wedding Casey.”

“Can Simon be the flower girl?” Marti asks.

“You guys, we’re just getting an apartment,” Casey says. “Not—that. Yet.”

“Cart. Horse. Shut. It,” Derek adds.

Edwin throws a French fry at him, but Derek dodges and it hits Casey instead. She growls and flicks her milkshake straw at both of them, and suddenly the kids are having a food fight in a public place.

Nora sighs and leans back in her chair; George does the same and turns to her with a wry smile. “More stuff Carol and Mike never had to deal with?”

“Yeah, something like that,” she admits. “But they never got _this_ , either.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to [blithers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/blithers/pseuds/blithers), both for betaing and for sending me down this improbably delightful rabbit hole in the first place. 
> 
> Shout-out to [red_b_rackham](https://archiveofourown.org/users/red_b_rackham/pseuds/red_b_rackham) for her Canadafication. Who knew they use kilometers but not meters up there? Not this American, let me tell you.


End file.
